On this day ...
20 September 1770
Endeavour Voyage Maps
James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia
Transcript of Cook's Journal
Joseph Banks's Journal
Sydney Parkinson's Journal
Description of the Island of Savu
Index
Search
Contact us
How far this account of the martial prowess of the inhabitants of Savu may be true, we cannot take upon us to determine, but during our stay, we saw no appearance of it. We saw indeed in the town-house, or house of assembly, about one hundred spears and targets, which served to arm the people who were sent down to intimidate us at the trading place; but they seemed to be the refuse of old armories, no two being of the same make or length, for some were six, and some sixteen feet long: we saw no lance among them, and as to the muskets, though they were clean on the outside, they were eaten into holes by the rust within; and the people themselves appeared to be so little acquainted with military discipline, that they marched like a disorderly rabble, every one having, instead of his target, a cock, some tobacco, or other merchandise of the like kind, which he took that opportunity to bring down to sell, and few or none of their cartridge boxes were furnished with either powder or ball, though a piece of paper was thrust into the hole to save appearances. We saw a few swivel guns, and pateraros at the town-house, and a great gun before it; but the swivels and pateraros lay out of their carriages, and the great gun lay upon a heap of stones, almost consumed with rust, with the touch-hole downwards, possibly to conceal its size, which might perhaps be little less than that of the bore.
 |
Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 693, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/693.html